


Nobody said it’d be an easy ride (obstacles in my way)

by broodygayLexa



Category: Warrior Nun (TV)
Genre: F/F, The summary isn’t great but I swear the content is better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25872619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broodygayLexa/pseuds/broodygayLexa
Summary: A couple of months after the Vatican mess the girls fight what could very well be the last good fight.
Relationships: Sister Beatrice/Ava Silva
Comments: 10
Kudos: 209





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first work after about a year, but this show and this ship have just brought it out of me. This is, as of now, a one-shot, but it might turn into a couple of chapters if the rare inspiration I have stays with me long enough. Let me know in the comments if you want it continued and I’ll try to work something out that’s not too short or too terrible.
> 
> Title is from Bishop Briggs’ Champion.

It felt like a whole lifetime had passed since they blew up part of the Vatican and inadvertently let Adriel out into the world to wreak havoc. A lifetime since they managed to extricate Mary from the mass of the possessed that had surrounded her and grab a very spent Ava to run for their lives while the explosion of energy from the halo gave them an opening.

Barely a month or two had passed, with almost no sign of Adriel, if it weren’t for the hordes of wraiths that were more and more prominent around the parts where they had holed up. The people from Ronda had welcomed them with open arms and, after a short visit to ArqTech and a promise from Ava that she would try her damndest to bring Michael back, they were blending in quite well in the small town. 

It was just a matter of time that things would go from bad to worse, wasn’t it?

Hours earlier they’d been training, Lilith had thrown Ava over her shoulder for the nth time, but this time Ava didn’t have a quip, she didn’t even make a move to get back up. 

“He’s here.” she’d muttered softly, both terrified and in awe of the enormous red cloud that was suddenly covering the sky. 

They had fought bravely and only sustained small injuries by the time only Adriel was left. The sisters had done as planned in an occasion such as this and had protected Ava so that the halo’s power didn’t go to waste before the good fight happened, they knew without it they had nothing to do against him.

The sisters helped distract him and wound him as much as they could, Lilith teleported around him and used her brand new claws to weaken him even more, but it wasn’t until he made the mistake of grabbing a winded Beatrice by the neck and sent her flying into Camila and Mary that Ava lit up like a Christmas tree, as she had so eloquently put it once before.

A burst of light so potent and so bright they would later hear in the news had been seen from the Malaga town proper had come out of the halo, but instead of the light just exploding from Ava’s back, as usual, it had thrown a beam of concentrated energy from her chest right at Adriel, hitting bullseye on his chest and seemingly disintegrating him before their very own eyes, except it didn’t.

Except a Tarask had come out of nowhere and taken his prone body and gone back as if nothing had happened.

Then the sisters had realized Ava had fallen herself and rushed towards her.

Now it was eight hours later and Ava had been lain down on a bed in a small room at ArqTech after they rushed her in from their van. Dr. Salvius had graciously led them to the room and set it up just as she had for Lilith when she had come back. The woman had, then, worked on helping the other girls, lending them a change of clothes and feeding them while they waited for any change from the halo bearer.

Beatrice kept them updated in their hourly visits, not wanting to move from her bedside just in case she woke up. “Nothing yet.” That or variations of it were the usual response. 

It was hour nine when Dr. Salvius came by, letting her know the others had bunked down to sleep and wondering if she needed anything at all.

Beatrice shook her head. “Thank you, Doctor Salvius, you’ve been incredibly generous with us every time we’ve been here.” She directed a small, thankful smile at the older woman.

The doctor smiled back, nodding. “It’s no problem. How is she?” She wondered, coming closer to the bed and looking down at Ava’s prone form. 

“Still the same,” Beatrice took a deep breath, as if needing more air or to prepare herself for what she had to say next, “she has no pulse, but she’s still warm. It’s been several hours since we got here, she hasn’t had a pulse for hours, and she’s still warm.” She looked at the doctor with tears in her eyes. “I just don’t understand it.”

“Well, as I’ve gathered, the halo brought her back to life once before, who’s to say it can’t do it again? If she’s warm that has to be something the halo is doing, actually dead bodies don’t have exothermic reactions, or at the very least not this long after the death in question.” Jillian gave Beatrice a look, as if asking for permission before softly resting the back of her hand against Ava’s forehead and nodding. “She feels on the verge of febrile. We’ll just have to keep waiting, none of the tests I’ve conducted have given us anything useful.” 

“I’ll wait as long as I have to.” Beatrice’s tone had a finality to it, as if the doctor had been challenging her to do it.

Jillian nodded once, almost in resignation, “but you need to sleep as well, Beatrice, you’ve barely stepped foot out of this room to eat and shower and then you almost ran back here. I understand that she’s important to you-“ “she’s important to all of us” “-yes, she is, but that doesn’t make you any less important, and you’ve been through so much already, your body needs rest. How about this, you use that other bed,” Jillian pointed to the other bed in the room, right behind Beatrice, “and I’ll stay with you both for a few hours. I’ve stayed up way longer for less important things, looking over you both is not gonna kill me.” When Beatrice went to protest she held up her hand, “I won’t take no for an answer.”

Beatrice sighed and reluctantly laid down on the other bed, turning on her side to keep looking at Ava even from that position. After a few minutes exhaustion began to take hold of her body and she was asleep within ten minutes of laying her head on the pillow.   


* * *

When Beatrice woke up she wasn’t sure how long it had been since she fell asleep, but Jillian had been replaced by Camila who seemed to be reading the Warrior nun’s journal and drinking out of a thermos what most probably was sweet nettle tea. Once Beatrice sat up, Camila closed the book and looked over at her with a soft smile.

“How long have I been asleep?” She asked, getting up and moving closer to Ava’s bed. 

“Around five or six hours, Doctor Salvius told me she had managed to get you to sleep when I woke up about an hour ago, she had to go home for a bit.” Camila looked at Ava too, leaning closer and pointing at the places on Ava’s face where there used to be bruises or small cuts. “She’s healing, or at least the smaller external things have healed. The halo must have been incredibly depleted and she must have taken so much damage for it to take this long to recharge and heal her.”

“You saw what happened, the halo threw a ray of energy through her chest and towards Adriel, and for a second I swear I thought she had either disintegrated him or ran him through with it, which, now that I think about it seems more plausible. Who’s to say the energy didn’t kill her? Who’s to say her internal organs didn’t go through the same burst of energy that hit Adriel? Maybe she hasn’t had a pulse for this long because she hasn’t even had a-“ Beatrice’s voice had turned more and more panicked as she went on with her rant, but she couldn’t finish the sentence, she couldn’t even think about it, it was unthinkable, impossible, she wasn’t gonna accept that idea. 

Camila moved closer to her, wrapping an arm around her and leading her to the door, “Bea, you need to breathe, why don’t you go eat something real quick and come back after? I’ll stay with Ava. I’ll call out for you if anything changes, okay?” Beatrice just nodded in response, walking down the corridor to the small kitchenette. 

It took her barely fifteen minutes to mindlessly eat whatever Mary had pushed in front of her after pushing her down into a chair and ordering her to “just stay there” while she finished making whatever she had already been making for herself, after that she started to make her way back to the room. She was actually taking her time, dreading the thought of having to go back to a pulseless, mostly lifeless, Ava. 

Then, when she was three rooms away from the door, Camila yelped loudly and came bounding out of the room, “She has a pulse!”, she practically yelled, excitedly, at the others. 

Beatrice looked back at Mary who had also just stepped out of the kitchenette and practically ran the rest of the way to Ava’s bedside. Looking at the machine she was hooked up to confirmed Camila’s outburst, Ava had a pulse again, and, if the slow movement of her chest was any indication, she was also moving oxygen in and out of her body again.

Moments later Lilith stood right at the door, seemingly having teleported there. “Did I hear right? Is she back?”

“She was never gone.” Beatrice snapped before she could stop herself, then bowed her head, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ she was cut with a dismissive wave from Lilith.

“It’s fine. How is she?” The taller girl looked over at Ava, not stepping into the suddenly very full room.

Camila smiled brightly, “she has a pulse again, so that’s a great start, and she’s processing the oxygen we’ve been feeding her now, that’s another good thing. She’s also been healing the little scrapes and bruises she had, so the halo seems to be recharging.” She told the others as she looked at the screens on the different machines hooked up to Ava. After, she took her tablet and the Warrior Nun’s journal and pushed the others out of the room, leaving only Beatrice there. “Come on, we have to eat.” She said as she did so, although it sounded more like an excuse. 

“But I already ate!” Bea heard Mary exclaim in the distance before she lost herself in the soft beeping of the machine that kept track of Ava’s heartbeat. 

* * *

It wouldn’t be until an hour or so later that Ava would begin to stir, and at first Beatrice thought it had been a trick of her mind when she saw a twitch of a finger but then another one came right after and she stood up, grabbing Ava’s hand. “Come on Ava, you have to wake up.” She told the girl, squeezing her hand softly. The even softer squeeze she got in response had her gasping in relief, tears blurring her sight.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here’s chapter two! And this has ran away with me so there will be more chapters after this but I don’t know how many. Thank you all for the comments and kudos! I hope you guys like this chapter, I don’t really know how I feel about some parts of it.

Beatrice waited for what felt like hours but was probably only one, watching Ava’s hands and face twitch this and that way until finally, when she least expected it, a gasping intake of breath, followed by a cough, followed by a panicked gaze around the room until Ava’s eyes found Beatrice.

“Ava, you’re okay, we’re at ArqTech, the others are here as well” Beatrice said, standing quickly and holding Ava’s hand, which was shaking.

Ava started to hyperventilate, “I can’t move, why can’t I move? What happened Beatrice?” Ava’s hand seemed to be applying force in their handhold but it felt like it wasn’t as strong as it could be.

Beatrice tried to soothe the prone girl by resting her other hand on her shoulder, “The halo’s energy was depleted, just like the other times, remember? It’ll take a bit but you’ll be able to move soon.” Once Ava calmed down a bit she squeezed her shoulder, “can you feel that?” When Ava nodded she continued with a soft smile, “what do you remember from before?”

Ava furrowed her brow in thought, “we fought a huge horde of wraith demons and then I went against Adriel?” She gasped, “did I beat him? Is that why the halo got drained?”

“We’re not completely sure,” Beatrice trailed off. “All we know is that you fought him, you had him down after using what seemed to be all of the halo’s power, and then a Tarask showed up and took him away.” Ava began to move with more ease as she recounted what happened not even twenty four hours ago.

“It sounds pretty badass, was it as badass as it sounds?” Ava smiles, fully calm now that she is beginning to regain feeling in her extremities.

“Ava, it’s been nearly twenty hours since that happened, you very nearly died. Hell I think you actually died, you had no pulse.” Beatrice has a hard time even whispering that last part.

Ava’s eyes go wide, “What do you mean I died, you’re saying the halo resurrected me again?”

“I think so. My theory is a bit out there but I’m going to tell you what I think happened and you tell me if it’s farfetched or not.” Beatrice took a deep breath, preparing herself to relive the ordeal that brought them here, “after fighting the wraiths you and Lilith fought Adriel while we tried to distract him, but he managed to get Lilith away and he threw me agains Mary and Camila. Then you pretty much exploded-“ “I... exploded?!” “-yes, let me continue. The halo seemed to expel all of its energy through you, literally. A beam of concentrated energy came out of your chest and hit Adriel. That’s when the Tarask came and that’s when we realized you weren’t okay, so we brought you here.”

Ava sat up silently, feeling capable of it now, before bursting out in a delighted scream, “HOLY SHIT I’M LIKE IRON MAN!”

“Ava, language! And I still haven’t told you what I think happened to you.” Beatrice chided Ava before closing her eyes and taking another deep breath, “I believe the burst of energy went straight through your body, destroying everything in its path before hitting Adriel. I think you didn’t have a pulse because you didn’t have a heart anymore, or at the very least not a complete one. I think healing you has taken so long because the halo didn’t have to just fix external injuries, it also had to reconstruct organs.” When Beatrice finished speaking she could feel a tear running down her cheek and another one teetering from the other eye, she hadn’t been looking at Ava the whole time she had been speaking, but when she did, confusion filled her mind.

Ava’s mouth and eyes were wide in excitement, a smile almost visible in her whole face, even with its current expression. She breathed in, deeply, before screaming again, “HOLY FUCKING SHIT, I ACTUALLY KINDA AM IRON MAN!”

A few seconds of silence went by after that outburst in which Beatrice just gaped at Ava, tears still falling from her eyes, then she spoke, voice barely there, “How can you be so blasé about this?”, before leaving the room.

She could hear Ava’s calls, her apologies, but she just continued walking without a certain destination until she looked around herself and found she was outside of the building. And then she kept on walking.

* * *

“Ava, what the hell are you doing out of bed? You shouldn’t be walking.” Mary exclaimed when she saw the halo bearer walk by her room. She quickly followed her when she saw she wasn’t stopping.

“It’s Beatrice, I think I pissed her off.” Ava winced with every step she took, but she kept going.

“And what, you think hurting yourself even more than you already are will make her less pissed?” Mary tried to put herself in the way so Ava would stop but she just stepped around her and kept going.

“She’s not here, I’ve looked for her everywhere, I just wanted to apologize, cause I know I joke a lot when shit goes wrong and maybe now wasn’t the time, but I can’t find her.” Ava looked like a kicked puppy and Mary couldn’t push down the fond little sister feeling she got when she saw that.

“Okay, look, how about we go to Salvius and ask her if she’s seen her?” She turned the girl around and led her toward the doctor’s office.

“Ugh, fine... but if we don’t find her it’s your fault.” Ava huffed the whole way to the older woman’s office and attempted to cross her arms when they got there, but only managed to hold the posture for a second before it became too painful and she had to drop it.

“Ava, I’m sure you know you should be resting, but what can I help you two with?” Jillian was giving Ava the whole disappointed mom look but she didn’t care, it wasn’t the first time she saw a disappointed look directed at her, she’d survive.

“Ava here pissed Bea off and she thinks she ran away cause she can’t find her. Have you seen her?” Salvius gave them both a surprised look.

“Can’t say that I have, but we can look at the camera footage and see if she did leave if you’re worried, although I’m sure she could take care of herself.”

* * *

After looking at the footage and confirming Beatrice had abandoned the building Ava had lost no time trying to follow her. But that was easier said than done when she didn’t know where the warrior nun had gone. Mary was still with her, having decided to come with in case Ava, who apparently was choosing to ignore that she was still healing and weak, exhausted herself.

“Ava, why don’t you just let her cool off and come back on her own? I don’t know what you said that would piss her off so much that she’d just bail but it’s been a rough day for all of us.” Mary wasn’t one to pry, but it did intrigue her that whatever Ava had said had been the straw to break the camel’s back for Beatrice.

“I just joked about being Iron Man after she told me what happened with the halo” Ava mumbled, kicking a small stone out of the way.

Mary stopped on her tracks. “You what?! Ava are you fucking kidding me?”

Ava kept walking until she looked over her shoulder and didn’t see Mary right behind her. She fully turned around, “What?”, she shrugged.

“Oh don’t you what me, Ava, do you have any idea what we went through after what happened? What she went through? She sat next to you, dead, or so we thought, for hours, she didn’t sleep until Salvius told her to, she barely ate... And you’re telling me the first thing you tell her after waking up is that you’re like Iron Man? You’re lucky there aren’t any cliffs nearby cause you deserve to be thrown off another one.”

“Hey!” Ava whined, letting out a long sigh after, deflating and looking down at a small pebble next to her shoe, which she promptly kicked as well. “I really fucked up, didn’t I?”

Mary gave a little bit of a nod, “Kid, you can be a little insensitive sometimes. It’s not your fault, I know it’s some sort of fucked up defense mechanism but this was Beatrice, you know you don’t need that shit with her. Hell, you don’t need it with any of us. We love you, Ava, you’re our sister, vows or not. Camila stayed there with you too, you know? So did Salvius from what the others told me. Lilith and I were a little banged up and needed the rest, otherwise we would have been there too, watching over your scrawny ass.” She punctuated those last two words with a soft punch to the arm and a light shove.

Ava smiled softly at Mary’s antics, “where do you think she went?” She asked, looking towards the town proper and the ocean in the distance. “Should we go down there and waste a lot of time looking for her or do you have an idea of where she’d go if someone were to, say, piss her off?”

“Actually, I remember this one time in Cat’s Cradle, she got very annoyed by a sister that’s no longer with us and hours later, when she came back, she did tell us she’d been at the beach meditating.” Mary offered.

“No longer with us?! Did she die? Did Bea kill her?!” Ava invaded her personal space, like an overly excited puppy.

“No, nuthead, she got sent away. She didn’t work well with us, let’s leave it at that.”

Ava sighed, nodding to herself after turning around and looking back towards the ocean. “I want to go alone. Are you gonna let me? I’ll be fine, I can take care of myself-“ she was cut off by Mary.

“Yes. You can go on your on. But if you, and this means /you, are not back in-” Mary took a glance at her watch, “-three hours, I’m hunting you down and bringing you back by the halo. Also take this,” She took a cellphone out of her pocket and handed it to Ava, “don’t lose it and don’t let it get wet, it’s not waterproof like those fancy ones. If anything happens or you need me to come to you, call Camila.” After giving Ava a look and a nod, she patted her shoulder as she started to make her way back to ArqTech. “Good luck!” She yelled over her shoulder after a few steps.

* * *

Ava reached Malaga in about half an hour, her slowly softening limp and the fact that she’d been deep in thought since Mary left her having slowed her down considerably. When she got to the town she knew exactly which way to go to get to the beach, after all it was the same way she went the night she got resurrected.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know it’s been two whole months since I last updated but the muse did not want to help. Hope you guys like it!

The contrast between her first visit to the beach and this one was stark. The first one, night, completely devoid of other people, almost cold. Now, barely midday, bustling with people, getting warmer by the minute. How was she going to find Beatrice amongst this throng of people? It’s not like she was gonna blend, she was still wearing her tactical OCS gear, but it was still going to take a while. 

After a while of walking down the beach she heard hushed voices from a group of teens who were kicking a football around, “Mira, otra que va vestida así...” ( _look, another one who’s dressed like that…)_ , so she was on the right path, then. She kept walking until she saw a low rock formation in the distance and a familiar darkly clothed nun sitting atop it. 

When she reached Beatrice she didn’t say anything, she just sat next to her, keeping a prudent distance and just looking in the same direction Beatrice had been looking at the whole time. The ocean was calm, unlike either of them, even if appearances might have told otherwise. 

A few minutes go by without a sound coming from either of them and Ava begins to feel restless, she looks at Beatrice from the corner of her eye so many times and for so long that her head begins to hurt a little from the strain and she shakes it, closing her eyes tight before turning her whole body towards the other woman, not without difficulty. “Look... I was an insensitive bitch before... I-I’m sorry Bea. I really am.”

“While I don’t disagree, I have had time to think about my reaction and perhaps it was a tad excessive...” Beatrice let out a sigh, still not looking at Ava. 

“Mary almost killed me after I told her what happened. Well, she almost killed me when she saw me out of bed, it looked like she was actively fighting the urge to kill me after I told her what happened.” Ava joked but the humor didn’t stick around for long. She cleared her throat, winced a bit when the effort brought a pang of pain. “She told me everything that happened after I... exploded, and I just had to find you.” 

A moment went by in which Beatrice tilted her head back, directed her gaze up to the sky and let out a shakier sigh than the last one, when she looked back down and turned towards Ava, the younger girl could see the dry tear tracks were being joined by new tears which were slowly making their way down her cheeks. “Did they let you come alone? You’re still not well, you haven’t healed fully.” Even when she was mad at her she still worried more than she had to. 

“I’m fine, Mary wanted to come with, but I told her to go back, I’m not an invalid, I can walk a few kilometers even if I’m still a bit unwell.” Ava huffed wiggling a bit, unable to stay still for even a minute. 

“Ava, you don’t have the flu, a few hours ago you-“ Beatrice stopped herself before going into full rant mode, taking a deep breath to calm herself before speaking again, “We worry about you, Ava. _I_ worry about you. You can be a bit careless sometimes.” 

“Oh? So now I’m careless too? I’ll add that to selfish and self centered. Look I came all the way here to apologize but I guess you need more time to cool down so I’m gonna let you do that, I’ll be around the beach,” Ava looked around before standing up and mumbling in a lower voice, “I don’t think I remember the way back...” 

Ava jumped down off the flat rock and walked away from Beatrice after kicking off her shoes and taking off her socks, dragging her feet through the sand as she walked. 

* * *

About half an hour went by and Beatrice had taken that time to meditate on her reaction earlier and how she had reacted to Ava’s state during the whole time the girl had been unconscious. She remembered how everyone, even Salvius, had been around her during those hours. She understood how it must have looked, even if she wasn’t completely ready to unpack it all. 

She stood on the flat rock formation and dusted herself off before gracefully getting down. She sighed before starting to head in the direction Ava had taken and after a short walk had found the girl sitting, amongst other people, in front of a girl who looked to be around their age and was playing the guitar, once she got closer she started to be able to hear the song she was singing. 

_“Siempre busco fuera lo que nace dentro_

_(I always search outside for what’s born inside)_

_Que mis días felices no dependan del deseo ajeno_

_(let my happy days not depend on the wishes of others)_

_Aprender a escuchar el silencio_

_(learn to listen to the silence)_

_Regalar movimientos al viento_

_(gift movements to the wind)_

_Yo sola ante este templo”_

_(I alone before this temple_ )

Looking towards Ava she could see the girl was immersed in the song, eyes closed and a soft smile curling her lips. She couldn’t help the smile that appeared on her face at the sight of it, she may be trying to compartmentalize her feelings towards the halo bearer but there was no way she could stop every single response every time. 

By the time Beatrice stepped next to Ava the girl with the guitar sang the last line, “ _La respuesta estaba dentro de mí” (the answer was inside of me_ ), the sister warrior waited until Ava opened her eyes to extend a hand to help her up. They stepped away from the crowd, closer to the water, and stopped right before the waves touched their feet. 

“Ava I’m sorry...” Beatrice started, looking straight ahead into the ocean, “I realize I may have been a bit overzealous but Ava you’re so important-“ she turned to the other girl who was already nodding almost angrily. 

“Yeah, yeah, the halo, the OCS needs me to use the halo, I know, and I promised I’ll be the last Warrior Nun. I’ll keep that promise, I’ll get Adriel, if he’s still alive, even if it’s the last thing I do-“ 

“Yes, you’re important to the OCS, I would say you’re important to the world as we know it, but that’s not what I mean, we care about you Ava, you’re important to _us_ , not as the OCS, not as sister warriors, as your friends.” Beatrice tried to get her point across (without actually betraying her own feelings in the meantime, mind you), but Ava could be so _stubborn_. 

Ava started to walk along the water, Beatrice stood there for a moment before following. 

“I know, I know, but it’s always the OCS this or the church that, and it’s Ava needs training and Ava doesn’t know stuff and Ava needs to be more disciplined...” Ava sighs, dragging her feet on the sand. 

“Ava... self flagellation is not the answer, trust me, I know. The others wouldn’t want to see you like this, never mind the OCS, or the church, I’m talking about the women back at ArqTech, the women who saw you almost die and have been there for you ever since you came into our lives.” Beatrice put a soft hand on the younger girl’s shoulder, stopping her with a barely there touch. 

Ava turned around, teary eyed and with a dejected look. “I’m just so tired, Beatrice, it feels like it never ends and it never will. Like-“ she lets out a sigh- “it felt like I had finally gotten rid of Adriel but then you said a Tarask took him so now he’s Schrödinger’s asshole and I don’t know if I want to know whether he’s alive or dead.”

Beatrice smiled sympathetically, “Have faith, Ava... I know you’re not religious, but try to have faith, if not in a god then in our team, in yourself.”

“I think I’m fresh out of that right now” Ava mumbled. 

“Then I will have faith for the both of us.” Beatrice’s voice lowered, almost at a whisper. 

Ava looked her straight in the eyes, a tear making its way off her lashes and down her cheek, “I’d really rather not die, you know? I kinda like my life now.”

“We don’t want that either, trust me” 

“Yes _you_ might not want that, Superion might not want that, but I don’t think Duretti or the church give a flying fuck wether I live or die as long as I get rid of Adriel and the wraiths and listen, I’m ready to be a self sacrificing idiot to save the world-“ as Ava said this Beatrice started to shake her head- “but after everything that has happened to me, after dying once and coming back, and being able to walk and have a life, after meeting everyone, meeting _you_ , I don’t want to die for a god I don’t believe in, for a Pope that sees me as a tool.”

“Fuck Duretti.” Beatrice whispered so low that her voice was almost swallowed by the gentle sound of the waves. Ava gasped. “ _I_ need you to stay alive, you’re important to the others, yes, but you’ve become invaluable to _me_ -“ she took a deep breath, wiping the stray tears that had reached her chin- “seeing you in that bed, barely alive, made me realize that I don’t want to live in a world in which you’re not there to make some silly pun or just smile at me when something goes right in your training. I don’t ever want to see you so _quiet_ and _small_ again.”

Ava gaped at her for what could very well have been a whole minute. “What does that mean, though?” 

Bea closed her eyes, shaking her head and heaving out a sigh that came out as almost a sob, “I’m not ready...” 

I’m not ready is what she said, but what Ava heard was this woman, this woman that had made her feel so much in such a short period of time, begging her for time; time to learn to love herself for who she was, time to actually be herself. And damn her if Ava wasn’t ready to give her that and more. “Okay.” She muttered. 

They walked back to where the young busker was still singing and passed next to her as they started to make their way back to ArqTech, their hands bumping together every other step.


End file.
